Mhlanga pays tribute to the late Lekofi
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday August 29, 2021 09:13
He told Arts & Culture that he had a studio session at his house where John Selolwane, arranged for a recording of his ( Selolwane's) single during the month of July 2021 and the producer was Sejeso. He said the recording went well until one day when Sejeso complained that he was not well.
"I requested him to come redo his piano parts which were not up to scratch not knowing that it was the last encounter I will have with him. One day we woke to very bad news that Sejeso had passed on. Selolwane’s song was almost complete and Sejeso left a legacy of producing for our legend John Selolwane," he revealed.
Mhlanga said the song started playing in his mind. “Days prior to his demise we were talking about playing and composing Tswana and folk music on traditional time signatures. Having decided to do a tribute for Sejeso, I found it relevant to do it and the result is this beautiful tribute song for KhafKhaff. The song has not been released but has been shared with legends and family, his son to be precise," he said.
He added that Sejeso’s son Teto Mokoke was a very good bass player and he appreciated his efforts on behalf of the family. He also said the dates of the song's release would be revealed soon after the family healed from their loss. Kurre also stated that the issue of royalties would be dealt with as they progress.
However, he pointed out that the song for Khafkhaff was a song he arranged when he was hurting adding that it would be humane to pass some of the royalties to the family. “While recording the song for Khafkhaff we did not encounter any problems because the artists he decided to use were relatively the youth instrumentalists/ artists. Those artists include Tabona Maseko who played bass and lead guitars, Wynton Senwelo who played drums, Katlego Ndlovu who played Piano, Thato Woki who played the trumpet, Hydro Molefe on chants and backing vocals, Nicole Martinez as a backing vocals and chants, Genius Senyatso with poem and chants”.
He said he met Sejeso for the first time at Lions Park where there was a Family Fun day back in 1983. At the time, Sejeso was a member of the Afro Sunshine Band. He said when he laid his eye on the late Sejeso and fell in love with his talent.
Mhlanga added that his favorite song by Sejeso had always been a song he did with Afro Sunshine band called Re Ba Lebile. He had therefore done a piano version and said Sejeso loved it very much. Mhlanga also highlighted that they used to give Sejeso a chance to play with them at Jazz Impromptu when their pianist the late Chamza Rampholo Molefhe was not in.